The Marauder's Pensieve
by anon33125
Summary: Slight AU where Fred didn't die, otherwise all mostly goes with the books. Sirius and Remus decided to leave a parting gift of memories of their childhood for Harry to see what his parents were really like. Light Lupin/Tonks, James/Lily, Harry/Ginny, Ron/Hermione
1. Introduction

"Harry!" Hermione's voice rang shrilly throughout the Burrow. "There's something on the doorstep for you!" She pulled the door open the rest of the way, not sure exactly who had placed the large, bowl-shaped package on the front porch. Harry's name was very clearly written on it though, so she only hoped there wasn't some dark magic surrounding it.

"What is it?" asked Ron, coming up behind her. "Not gonna eat us or something, is it?"

"_Revelio!_" She said confidently, pointing her wand at the package. "I don't think so. Nothing very dangerous could have made it through our defenses," she concluded, leaning over once again to join Ron in inspecting it.

Finally, Harry managed to climb down the stairs with Ginny and Molly Weasley close behind him.

"We've only just managed to get Teddy to sleep, so stop shouting you two," Molly hissed at her son and Hermione. "Now what's all this?"

"It could be dangerous," Ginny started, reaching out to poke the bundle with her wand.

"Nah, it's not. It looks like Dumbledore's Pensieve," Harry said, unconcerned as he reached out to unwrap it. They all waited apprehensively, but, sure enough, Harry was right. It was indeed a Pensieve, although not Dumbledore's. It was a large bowl, filled with silvery memory liquid.

"So, whose is it?" George asked, appearing behind the group bending over the table.

"Dunno, who'd want to threaten Harry with memories?" Ron shrugged, mesmerized but oddly disgusted by the floating, swirling silver strands.

"Well," Harry decided, "memories can't physically hurt us, so might as well go in and I can pull myself when I've had enough."

"Do you suppose we could see the memories too? You have so much experience with Pensieves, and I've never even been in one. I'm just curious as to what it will entail, how it works, what you mean when you say it compels you to follow the one who owns the memories, what would happen if you left the memory owner…?" Hermione trailed off, realizing how ridiculous she must have sounded. No one spoke for a minute following her speech before Ginny broke the silence.

"I'd like to see them as well."

There was an assortment of nods around the group and even Molly looked as if she wanted to join in.

"It's safer with more people anyway, right, mate?" Fred joked, nudging Harry's shoulder.

Finally Harry sighed in agreement, a mysterious Pensieve, might as well let his friends in, they would probably hear about it from him anyway.

"Alright then, everyone reach in and touch the silver."

The group tumbled down into a warm, home-y living room.

"It's the Tonks's," Harry murmured, remembering the comfort Andromeda and Ted Tonks's house from when he would bring Teddy or pick him up to give his grandmother a break.

They all gasped lightly when a very familiar, tall, thin, brown-and-grey haired man came into focus, a squirming little blue haired bundle in his arms. The man was cooing softly to the baby, rocking him easily in his arms, before he seemed to remember something and stood up a little straighter. He turned to face the group, seemingly staring at them straight on.

"Lupin," Harry breathed, scarcely daring to hope that one of his parents' oldest friends had somehow managed to leave him a message beyond the grave.

Remus Lupin gave a small smile and began talking, as though he were actually addressing all of them: Harry, Hermoine, Ron, Ginny, Molly, Fred, and George.

"Well, I suppose I feel a bit ridiculous standing here talking to myself, but here goes. Harry, if you're watching this, I hope it means you've defeated Voldemort once and for all. I really do believe you can do it. It also most likely means that I have died in the battle, or from old age, though hopefully that means I will have been with you the first time you experienced this, but… I digress. What I'm trying to say is that you never met your parents. And Teddy here will never know any of my best friends who made me the man I am today. So, I've put a bit of a memory show together for you both, a small way for you to meet the Marauders' at their best rather than the way you've known me mostly at my worst. Sirius and I had talked about this back when we lived together at Grimmauld Place, we thought we'd give it to you as a bit of a birthday gift, but then Sirius passed and, well, things got complicated," Lupin paused here, nuzzling the baby gently as he squirmed and mewled from his blanket nest. "Shhh, I know you're hungry, love, mum'll be in soon."

The group was all awed at what they were seeing. It was Remus Lupin, not as a werewolf, not as a teacher, and not as a stressed out and anxious mess. He was a calm father, gentle, easy, and he had been thinking about the future despite all of the horror taking place in the world at that point.

"Remus, what on earth are you doing?" A voice interrupted their musings as the memory continued around them. They glanced up to see a young woman with long dark brown hair and a pale heart-shaped face glaring playfully at Lupin.

"Dora, I told you, I'm setting up Harry's memory gift today," he sighed in light exasperation.

"That includes talking to yourself does it?"

"I'm talking to Teddy. And if I have the memory of talking to myself, then it will seem like I'm talking directly to Harry rather than through him as most memories do," he explained to her. She merely raised an eyebrow.

"You can always just take him through these yourself, I don't know why you insist on this introduction… thing," she waved her hand vaguely in the air as through trying to illustrate her point.

"I can take this memory out if I am able to take him through these memories on my own, but we have to face the possibility that might not be the case."

"You're so morbid, Remus. I think I'll make sure this memory sticks so when you do show Harry, you'll have to relive this moment again and be overly embarrassed that you looked like such a prat."

"I supposed we'll just have to wait and see, Dora dear," he chuckled warmly.

"Anyway, I only hope my hair choices don't leave me looking all peaky and motherly, ugh, I better be back to my pink soon," Tonks trailed off, walking over to the crib in the corner of the room to fix the blankets up for Teddy's nap.

"I'm sure you'll look wonderful, love," Lupin commented, shifting slightly as he watched her. "Do you mind if I….?"

"Finish your absurd introduction?" She finished his question for him, glaring playfully at him, but with a loving twinkle in her eyes "nah, go ahead, but I'm staying in the room so I can make fun of you for talking to yourself later."

"Very well," he conceded, turning his attention back to the group, who were still standing in awe of the scene before them. "Harry, this is a collection of memories, mostly my own but also many of Sirius's, to let you really see what being a Marauder meant. I've also included, upon Molly's request, a bit of Dora and my story towards the end, in the hopes that one day Teddy would want to understand it and also, that you may a little more. So, sit back, relax, and enjoy! There are a lifetime of memories in here, a lifetime which you deserve to be a part of. You'll see me again very soon!"

Tonks looked like she was having a very hard time trying not to laugh her arse off. She walked up to Lupin, holding her arms out to the now incessantly moving Teddy. Lupin bent over and very tenderly kissed the baby's head before relinquishing his hold to his wife. Tonks brought Teddy gently into her arms, pressing him close to her chest, as Lupin moved his now free arm to wrap loosely around her waist. He leaned over and kissed her just as affectionately along her jaw bone as he had with their baby. She leaned easily into him, tucking her head into his shoulder, as he murmured quiet words to her.

The scene drifted away from the memory travelers and soon they were encased in darkness, now aware that they were preparing for an onslaught of memories from those who had long since passed on from life.


	2. First Meeting

"If only they knew," Molly murmured reverently under her breath.

"Well," Hermione started. "At least this way Teddy will get to see them."

"He'll have more than I ever did," Harry agreed, feeling both happy for Teddy and warmed all the way to his toes that both Lupin and Sirius had actually been planning all of this as a simple gift to him.

Their conversation died as Hogwarts castle bloomed into view in front of them. It was a beautiful fall day for the first of September, the first day of school, and, presumably, the day the Marauders met. Harry had never heard the story, Fred and George were perhaps even more anticipatory as these four men had been their idols all through their school years. Ginny slipped her hand into Harry's, squeezing it tightly while Ron and Hermione looked equally as excited as Fred and George.

It was a brisk fall day for September 1st, 1970 as a single thestral-drawn carriage pulled up in front of the enormous castle. A tall, leanly muscled brown-haired man, a slight but pleasant-seeming sandy-blonde woman, and a very small light brunet boy jumped out, all staring in awe at the sight before them.

"Well, this must be it. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," the man said, confidently, ruffling his son's short shaggy hair. "Excited, Remi?"

"Remember, Remus," the woman smiled, crouching down to the boy's height. "If it all gets to be too much, we'll take you right back home again. I can teach you just as well there."

"He won't be coming home until the school break, Hope," the man addressed sternly to the woman. "Remus is a young man now. If he ever hopes to make it in the real world, he can go to school like a normal kid."

"He is _not _a normal kid, Lyall," Hope scorned, standing up straight again. "And this school alone is bigger than the entire town we raised him in! It's bigger than either of the schools we were taught at. He's quiet and shy and shouldn't be forced into something he's not ready for!"

"We will never get a better offer for him! I'm sure Dumbledore won't repeat it again if we refuse this time around!" Lyall retorted to his wife. She planted her hands on her hips, frowned deeply and drew in a deep breath to extend what was easily becoming obvious as a common argument. The boy sensed his mother's growing anger and quickly shifted his attention from the castle to her, tugging gently at her sleeve.

"I'm alright, Mum," he said. "It's big, but I'll be alright."

Hope glanced down at him, flustered by his interference in their argument, but seemed to visibly calm down with the boy's steady, unafraid voice. She looked as though she still wanted to add more to her conversation with her husband, but a professional-looking woman with a tight black bun, small glasses, and long dark robes was strolling briskly towards the three.

"You must be the Lupins, I presume?" She asked, coming within a respectable distance of them.

"Lyall Lupin," the man stated assertively, reaching forward his hand to shake with hers, "My wife, Hope, and our son, Remus." He finished, gesturing to each of them as he said their names, Hope also reaching forward to shake hands with the new woman.

"Pleasure. I am Professor McGonagall, Head of Gryffindor House, and Primary Assistant to the Headmaster," she finished the introductions quickly and gestured for the family to come forward. "If you would follow me, please."

"We have taken the utmost precautions for your son to be able to study with us here at Hogwarts. He will stay in the dormitories every night except for those of the full moon. Either myself or our school healer will escort him to his transformation site, which I will show you now. Madame Pomfrey will meet us at the entrance," Professor McGonagall explained as they walked with long strides. Remus practically running to keep up the pace and not get lost on the extensive castle grounds. "We have planted a Whomping Willow tree over the entrance to a tunnel which leads to a secluded cabin on the outskirts of Hogsmeade Village. This cabin is completely inaccessible to the public, both magical and Muggle, human and nonhuman, except by means of the tunnel. Again, either Madame Pomfrey or I will escort him back to his dormitory or the infirmary the early morning after the full moon."

McGonagall stopped her explanation as they reached the willow on the grounds, a middle-aged woman in a healer uniform was indeed waiting for them at the base of the tree.

"Poppy, these are the Lupins, and their son Remus," Professor McGonagall shortened the introductions easily, looking down at her watch, anxious that the Hogwarts Express would arrive early, as it so often did when they actually had things to accomplish before the arrival of all the children.

"My dear Minerva, we mustn't be so hasty, after all, I'm sure they have some questions," came a deep, calm voice from behind them.

Professor McGonagall winced slightly in surprise but otherwise pretended the tall, silver-haired man had been there all along.

"Of course, Professor Dumbledore," she said civilly, once again making the introductions, announcing that Dumbledore was the Headmaster of Hogwarts.

"We have so much to thank you for, Professor Dumbledore, sir. We couldn't find any other headmaster willing to make the exception for a boy like ours," Hope stated earnestly, bowing to him as she shook his hand.

"Thank you, indeed, Professor. Remus will definitely make you proud," Lyall agreed, also shaking Dumbledore's hand with gratitude.

"I have no doubts that he will," Dumbledore replied, tilting his head to be the first of the new adults to fully acknowledge the small boy. "Do you have anything you wish to ask me?"

"Well, Professor Dumbeldore, sir, what exactly _is_ Gryffindor House?" He asked hesitantly, he'd been confused about it since Professor McGonagall had first made that special distinction. He was familiar enough with the rest of his unique situation, his curiosity was entranced with this castle, this school, all of the new adventures that awaited him.

Dumbledore chuckled lightly before answering the question.

"Hogwarts is made up of four distinct Houses: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. All of our students are sorted into one of these Houses before our welcoming feast on the very first day they arrive. Gryffindors favor courage as a great strength, Hufflepuffs loyalty, Ravenclaws intelligence, and Slytherins power. It is not to say that a Hufflepuff cannot have courage, or a Gryffindor not be top of the class, or a Slytherin not be loyal, or even a Ravenclaw not desire power, it is just a way to define your family as those who share the same virtues as you. Your House will become your new family at Hogwarts. Does that answer your question?" He concluded, smiling at the young Remus.

"Yes, thank you, sir. If you don't mind me asking one more?" He asked nervously. Dumbledore bowed his head to encourage him to ask it. "Am I to be a Gryffindor?" At Dumbledore's pleased nod, he frowned a little and added quietly. "I'm not very courageous."

"You are perhaps the most courageous sort of person, Remus. Coming to live peacefully and learn equally among those who would be seen as prey for most werewolves, takes a great deal of courage, even if you may not see it now. Furthermore, you have relied on your parents before now to keep you from harming others, and now, you must learn to rely on yourself. Trusting yourself is a feat of great courage which I sometimes still fail at myself," he added a wink and another warm, twinkling smile. Remus blushed a deep red and nodded his head in acceptance of Dumbledore's explanation, even if he didn't quite seem to believe it.

"Well, now, if that is all?" Dumbledore clapped his hands together, glancing at both of Remus's parents (both of whom shook their heads in lack of questions for him). "Then I must be off to make sure our great welcoming feast will be ready soon. See you all in due time!" He gave one last smile to Remus, a nod of his head to McGonagall and Madame Pomfrey, and a cheerful wave to Lyall and Hope before disappearing back to the castle.

"I suppose I'll show you the tunnel and the cabin now, if you'd like," McGonagall said, ushering the group forward into the nook of the tree which was now frozen in place.

Remus had followed and remained quiet as his parents pestered both Professor McGonagall and Madame Pomfrey about every possible little detail concerning full moons, but now he was more than ready for everyone to be done discussing his 'condition.' Professor Dumbledore had been the only one to actually mention it by name. He was a werewolf. Not sick, not dying, not some _thing_ that needed to be tiptoed around. Well, actually, he _was_ a monster, but it was really only one night a month, twelve days out of an entire year, one hundred and twenty days in a decade, etc. He was only part monster, the rest of him still felt as normal as he could feel. It got old fast to be whispered about and discussed like this; them talking about how he would be most comfortable or least likely to try to escape. Why didn't they just ask him? After all, he was the one with firsthand knowledge of the wolf's brain. And his own comfort. He sighed, trailing a bit behind the adults as they left the gloomy, lonely cabin and emerged once again on the Hogwarts grounds.

"Well," Professor McGonagall jolted him out of his musings. "Remus, if you'd like to say goodbye to your parents now, I'll escort them out. Madame Pomfrey will take you up to Gryffindor Tower, where you can stay until the feast starts at precisely 6:00."

Hope opened her arms wide to give her son as big a hug as she could manage.

"Bye, Mum. Promise I'll be alright," he said, words muffled by her shoulder.

"Write often, study hard," she murmured, squeezing the small boy even tighter. "I love you."

"Love you, too," he mumbled as she let him go.

"We'll see you at Christmastime, Rem," Lyall said, once again ruffling Remus's hair before taking his wife's arm to pull her away as they followed Professor McGonagall off the Hogwarts grounds.

"So, what is it you like most after transformations?" Madame Pomfrey asked the boy, surprising him slightly.

"Uh, my mum always gives me chocolate the next morning," he said, scratching his head.

"Always have chocolate on hand in the infirmary, but I'll keep a special supply for you," she offered as though trying to make amends for ignoring him throughout the time his parents were present. "I've worked with many a werewolves in my time. Not many kids survive as young as you."

"I was bitten when I was five," he sighed. "Don't really remember not being a werewolf."

"Never known a kid to survive that kind of attack at five, you must be made of something special," she remarked quietly, more to herself than to him.

"I've read that it's really rare. Most kids just don't get to a healer in time, they lose too much blood. Or they're already kinda weak and sick, so they don't have any strength to try to pull through," Remus just barely stopped himself from telling her about some of the firsthand accounts he'd read when he noticed the look of mild disgust on her face. He remembered why his parents had frowned upon him taking an interest in reading these morbid books, most people found them foreboding.

Eventually, they made it up to the picture of the Fat Lady, gossiping with some of her picture friends and Madame Pomfrey said the password, the Fat Lady swinging forward to admit them to the Gryffindor common room.

"I'll leave you here, then, Remus. Someone ought to be around to fetch you and bring you down to the feast soon. I've many things to attend to as well before the rest of the students arrive," she bade him a nice farewell, leaving him free to explore Gryffindor Tower.

He glanced around the empty room and shivered slightly. It was a room bursting with the colors of scarlet and gold. Strong, loud, boasting colors, he couldn't imagine fitting in with people who were comfortable surrounded in colors such as these. After looking around uncomfortably, not quite sure of where to place himself, he decided it might be best to just find his things and set up his sleeping quarters.

He found the first year boy's dormitory easily enough and spotted his own luggage soon after, seeing as it was the only luggage in the dorm. He sank delicately onto his new mattress, new four poster bed, with dark scarlet curtains to pull around himself for privacy. He pulled one of his old favorite books from his trunk, leaned back onto his headboard and began to read.

Quite possibly several hours later, Remus became aware that he was not entirely alone in the dormitory. More trunks had appeared beside the other four poster beds in the room and he could hear soft footsteps approaching. Maybe someone was coming to get him for the feast? He wondered. He quickly stowed his book away and sat back on the bed trying to look proper.

It wasn't anyone official, instead, it was a boy about the same age as Remus himself, with long dark hair pulled into a low ponytail and a long, pale face with dark eyes that stood out quite dramatically.

The boy tilted his head to the side as he realized Remus was sitting on one of the beds in the supposedly deserted dormitory.

"Skipped out on the feast too?" The new boy asked sullenly. Remus just shrugged.

"Not really hungry," he half-lied. He was too nervous to think up a good excuse for being in the dormitory before the feast had actually ended.

"Yeah, me either," the boy sighed, looking at the arrangement of trunks to find his own. "My parents are going to kill me," he added under his breath.

"Mine too, if they find out I didn't eat tonight," Remus tried to lighten mood, this boy seemed especially upset about something or other. His comment, however, made the boy look up, give an open smirk, and a light chuckle.

"Mine actually might think it fitting that I starve myself in punishment for not being sorted into Slytherin," he appeared to only be half joking. "I'm Sirius, by the way," he added, finding his trunk on the other side of the dormitory.

"Remus," Remus responded happily as the dark haired boy pulled his trunk away from its bedside. He went down the row, kicking each of the trunks over a bed until he reached Remus's, where he set his own trunk down by the bed next to him. Sirius flopped himself happily on the bed.

"I left before dessert though, we should find the kitchens tonight and get some treacle tart," he rolled his head to the side to watch Remus.

"Maybe, though I'm not sure we should be wandering about a castle without a clue where we're going," he said, hesitant to start testing rules so early.

"I'm good with directions, big castles like this are easy. Plus I bet there's a horde of house elves who'd give us anything we ask for," Sirius grinned completely unashamed.

"I've never met a house elf before," Remus mused.

"Really?" Sirius asked, sitting up on his bed. "They're incredibly useful and they even love doing housework. My family's got one, his name's Kreacher, kind of a crazy old nutter, but I suppose he must be to put up with my mother."

Remus giggled at that, imagining a creature with very large ears trying to tidy up working with his own often scatter-brained mother. Sirius couldn't help but join in with Remus's laughter and soon both of them were chortling at seemingly nothing.

"So, what do you say? Come find the kitchens with me tonight?" Sirius pestered again, once they'd regained their composure. Remus hesitated again, trying to figure out a friendly way to turn the offer down. "I hate being on my own," Sirius urged, pleading lightly.

"Alright then," Remus sighed, giving in. It was only a trip to the kitchens. "We can always just say we got lost on our way to the common room."

"That's the spirit! We are first years after all!" Sirius grinned, the excitement in his eyes causing his whole face to glow brighter.

"If we get caught though, it was all your idea," Remus shrugged, but he couldn't stop his own smile from tugging the corners of his lips.

A huge commotion quickly became obvious just below them.

"Feast must be over," Sirius said, standing up. "Come on, we should look like we just got here."

Remus agreed and he also stood, both raced to the entrance of the dormitory and hid behind a set of curtains as the first of their classmates burst into the room.

"Alright! First one in!" One of the boys shouted.

"Aw, man! That feast was awesome! My mum never cooks that good!"

"That's cuz your mum doesn't like you, mate!"

"Where's my broomstick? I coulda sworn I packed it."

"First years aren't allowed broomsticks, you dolt!"

Sirius pulled Remus's sleeve as he decided it was time for them to join in the commotion. They slipped easily back over to their corner to discover that a chubby boy by the name of Peter Pettigrew, judging by the luggage had the bed to the left of Remus's, while one of the trunks that Sirius had kicked away belonged to one of the louder boys with a mess of thick, black hair.

After what seemed like no time at all, the boys had all settled down and many were fast asleep in their beds. Sirius sat up, pulled his blankets off, and crept over to where Remus was just starting to get his usual restlessness before sleeping in a new place.

"Ready for the kitchens?" he whispered, pulling at Remus's blankets.

"Sure, let me get my shoes," he muttered back, privately very happy that Sirius hadn't forgotten about their little excursion.

"Hey! What are you two doing?" came a whispered accusation from the bed next to Sirius's as the two tried to sneak off.

"None of your business," Sirius quickly supplied.

"I'm not gonna tell," the boy argued quietly, sitting up in his own bed.

"I'm supposed to believe that?" Sirius snapped back. Remus recognized an argument immediately, he really hated stupid fights, especially if it was going to wake up the whole dorm for no good reason.

"We're headed to the kitchens for some dessert," he supplied quickly, hoping it would keep the new boy from asking further questions and Sirius from getting more riled up.

"Really?" The boy whispered, now excitedly. "My cousin told me about some of the best passages to get to the kitchens, ones where Filch won't sneak up on us."

"Us? You coming too, then?" Sirius started slightly.

"Yeah, I'm never one to pass on desserts!" The boy swung his legs quickly and quietly over the side of his bed into his shoes.

"I'm James, by the way," the new boy said, as they reached the common room, sure they wouldn't wake anybody up. "James Potter."

"I'm Sirius Black," Sirius offered and then gestured to Remus. "He's Remus…"

"Lupin," Remus finished, grinning. "Now you two better stay quiet once we leave this common room, I'm not getting in trouble my very first night."

"Looks like we've got a boring, goody-two-shoes on our hands," James joked, elbowing Remus lightly.

"Nah," Sirius said, "he's cool."


	3. Midnight Excursion

A/N: Ok, so it's been a LONG time, but I got a very unexpected review and had to revisit this story. I'd actually kind of forgotten how much I liked the direction I wanted to bring it, and ended up writing another chapter... It's finals time though, so very unlikely that there will be regular updates, I will try to keep it going this time! :)

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

_ "Of course they would get into trouble before classes even start," Hermione sighed. Molly shook her head in exasperation, but there was a warm twinkle in her eye to see Remus so young and carefree. _

_ "Brilliant!" Fred said, a huge grin on his face as the memory followed the three boys down the dormitory stairs. _

_ "The kitchens are every kids' first adventure," George added knowingly. _

_ Harry just squeezed Ginny's hand in happy anticipation._

"So, you're a Black?" James questioned, tilting his head towards Sirius as the three boys made their way out of the common room and into the dark, abandoned hallways of the rest of the school.

"What of it?" Sirius asked, eyes darkening as he shot a glare to James.

"Never heard of a Black in Gryffindor," James replied, a challenge in his voice.

"Never heard of a Potter who wasn't a weak minded pansy whore," Sirius retorted, a frown marring his young face, eyes flashing.

At this point, Remus tried to make himself as small as possible, he didn't even understand what they were arguing over. Were family names really so important? He glanced back at the portrait of the fat lady; he could easily make it back there and pretend this little excursion never happened.

"OI! You are -" James's angry retort was cut off roughly by an overly happy giggling from above them.

"Ickle Firsties, out of bed already! Filch will love his present!" Peeves started laughing manically as the color drained from all three boys faces. "STUDENTS OUT OF BED! STUDENTS OUT OF BED!"

"Shit!" Sirius muttered, quickly making a grab for Remus's arm as he batted at a nearby tapestry to find a secret passageway.

"Let me go!" Remus hissed, attempting to push Sirius's hand off of him, still glancing furtively at the fat lady.

"Shut up!" James grumbled back at the two of them, and taking a hold of Remus's other arm, he pulled the two to a wall just under the stairwell and banged on it with his fist.

"That's a wall, Potter," Sirius said, rolling his eyes as he tried to disentangle Remus's arm from James's hand.

"No it's not!" James argued, fervently kicking at the wall more viciously.

"Someone's coming," Remus said, going still as he heard footsteps moving quickly closer to where they stood clumped together.

"Stupid door," James muttered, more to himself than either of his companions.

"Stupid Potter," Sirius said back, though the snarkiness of the comment was somewhat lost with the growing quickly apparent in the boy's eyes.

"Stupid ide-" Remus started to add in his own thought but was cut off as the wall creaked inwards, just a large enough gap to fit an 11 year old boy through.

James grinned widely in satisfaction, running through the new doorway, pulling Remus with him, and Sirius who was still hanging on to Remus's arm.

As the wall slammed closed behind them, the passage was filled with darkness and Remus was briefly grateful that both James and Sirius still had a hold of his arms, he could have easily been lost in here. One of the boys started rustling around, then a quiet "_lumos_" was uttered, and a soft light revealed them to be in a dusty storage room, rickety desks, chairs, and chalkboards cluttered by the walls.

"How did you know this was here?" Sirius demanded turning his wand-light on James.

"You know spells already?" James was looking mesmerized by the light coming from Sirius's wand. "Whenever I try anything I just get sparks."

"I asked you first," Sirius responded indignantly.

"Fine, my sister told me. She said if I was going to get into trouble, I might as well know where some hiding places were," James said, shrugging.

_"Sister?" Harry questioned, feeling faint. He looked towards Molly Weasley. _

_ "I wish I could tell you something, dear, but I don't know," Molly replied softly. _

_ "She's probably dead," Ron offered unhelpfully. Ginny and Hermione both smacked his arm. _

_ "I'm sure we'll find out, Harry," Hermione said, still scowling at Ron. _

"Now, magic?" James prompted Sirius eagerly.

"Right, give me your wand," Sirius said, finally letting go of Remus (who then rubbed at his arm, frowning, but equally intrigued by how Sirius was already so comfortable using magic). Sirius glanced over James's wand, then muttered something as he touched the tip of it with his own.

"What is it?" James asked both eager and anxious.

"Your parents put a cloak on it, so you can only do magic on Hogwarts grounds. Anything you try to do out of Hogwarts will only make sparks. It should work fine now," Sirius replied, handing the wand back to James.

"_Lumos_," James tried, holding his wand in front of him. A second soft wand light joined the first and James jumped in glee. "Excellent, mate! How'd you know that?"

"My cousin Bella tried cloaking my wand and I ended up almost burning my aunt Cassie's hair off. Father got angry, punished Bella, and took the cloaking off. Then he punished me for not standing up enough to make Bella know her place," Sirius responded matter-of-factly, rolling his eyes at the memory.

"Can you teach me?" Remus asked quietly, eyes wide as he looked at the two wand lights compared to his own dark wand.

"This spell is pretty elementary," Sirius said, expression softening as he looked over to Remus. "Just say _lumos_ and focus on wanting light."

"Make sure you hold your wand tight," James supplied. "If not, then you won't have total control over what it does."

Remus squeezed his eyes shut and tried to focus only on wanting to make light, he couldn't be falling behind every other student entering Hogwarts this early in the year. He felt the warmth from his wand grow and softly he whispered "_lumos._"

A third light joined the other two.

"Excellent!" James smacked him on the back.

"Well done, Remus," Sirius offered, smiling, though there was a far off look in his grey eyes.

_"Who would've thought James and Sirius would make good teachers?" Molly sighed, shaking her head. _

_ "Well, Remus was also smart too, without either of them," Hermione said, a little offended on Remus's behalf. _

_ "I know that, dear, but the Sirius we knew…" Molly's voice trailed off as she looked a little ashamed of herself. _

_ "The Sirius we knew had been in Azkaban for 12 years," Harry said gruffly, not taking his eyes off the three boys in the memory for a second. _

_ "Even the Sirius in the memories seems older than his friends," Ginny observed, squinting closer at the grey eyed boy, who was now searching out the storage room for an exit door. _

_ "Growing up in Grimmauld Place would do that to you," George said as he and Fred both shuddered with their own memories of the Black family home. _

_ "Shut up! Remus found a new exit," Harry hissed at them. _

"Ah Ha!" Remus grinned triumphantly at his find, a vent that opened up to reveal a crawl space.

"Aw, Mel said that one just leads back to the dorms," James sounded disappointed as he and Sirius scrambled over to see what Remus had found.

"Well, that sounds like an excellent idea to me," Remus responded, squeezing himself into the opening quickly before either of the other boys could grab his arms to manhandle him again.

"Don't be such a wimp, Remus," James said, crouching in to get a hold of Remus's ankles.

"Let me go! I'm not getting expelled on the very first night here!" Remus kicked his feet around so James's grip faltered.

"Come on! It'll be fun! And dessert!" James tried fishing around again, but Remus had scrambled too far into the tunnel.

"Oh leave him, Potter," Sirius rolled his eyes and grabbed James's shoulders to pull him away from the vent. "I'm going back to the dorms too. Beats being stuck here with you."

"And you were the one who called _Potters_ pansies," James sneered as he stood up again.

"Well at least Blacks aren't complete idiots," Sirius said, taking the opportunity to slide himself into the tunnel behind Remus. "There's no way we can get out the same way we came in. We'll try again tomorrow with a better plan."

"Try again?" James responded thoughtfully.

"Well _I'm_ certainly not giving up," Sirius said snootily before he started crawling. After a minute of following Remus, he felt James close behind him as well.

"We're going to need to a lookout for Peeves and Filch. We'll also need to do some serious scouting for passages between classes. And we have to work on hiding spells, like the disillusionment charm!..."

From the front of the line of boys, Remus could still hear James prattling on about his list of their necessities for sneaking around the castle at night. The young werewolf felt a smile pulling at his lips. This probably wasn't quite what his parents had in mind when they'd told him to make friends; but then, Remus was always a tad unconventional.


End file.
